


These Eyes Of Mine

by KofukunaShiNoKami



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, F/M, Good Uchiha Sasuke, Overpowered Uzumaki Naruto, Rinnegan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:47:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25843066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KofukunaShiNoKami/pseuds/KofukunaShiNoKami
Summary: The premature, random mixture of two components is never recommended. It is unpredictable and usually dangerous. Of course, if you asked Naruto Uzumaki, that was exactly how he'd describe himself. Unpredictable and usually dangerous. Rinnegan!Naruto Good!Sasuke Pairings now decided, to some extent.
Relationships: Fuu of Takigakure/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: Naruto FF, Naruto Fanfictions





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys and gals! This is a cross-post session, where I am going to be bringing over my works from ffn to this site at the suggestion of a reader. I'd love to hear what you guys also think of my fic, and no need to worry about the authenticity. You can PM me on ffn - on the same username - and I'd be more than happy to confirm that this is still me. I'll be slowly updating all the chapters to this site, because it takes a little while to actually format the text too. I have decided upon the pairing, and at the moment it is a single girl, but I am strongly considering adding a second girl to it. Both pairings are rare, and I'm going to keep it a surprise until chapter 6 (which should go up on ffn in a few days, and should be here as soon as I catch up with the other chapters and stories as well).

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

Naruto felt a sickly, cold feeling spread through him, as he turned his attention towards his left side. Blood seeped into his jacket, and spread through the orange fabric. Just looking at the wound caused him to grow lightheaded, which sent him stumbling down, till he was sprawled out on the bridge's surface. The soft thud of his crash immediately alerted Kakashi to his plight, and the Jōnin rushed to his student's side. As the Jōnin pulled up the boy's jacket to get a better look at the wound, he noticed a bloodied kunai lying next to him, evidently a stray one fired by one of Gato's goons.

The wound itself was horrific, even for Kakashi, a seasoned Anbu Captain. The kunai had not pierced through him, but had left a gash that was nearly two inches deep against his entire left side. Kakashi noticed a few wisps of red chakra sizzling around the wound, but it didn't seem to be helping Naruto at all. After the boy's exhaustive fight with Haku, and then his earlier release of the Kyūbi's chakra, Naruto was in no condition to be healing himself. Kakashi thanked his lucky stars that the Anbu corps required all of their members to know basic Iryō Ninjutsu. His palms lit up with the familiar green chakra of the Shōsen Jutsu, which he proceeded to push towards the boy's wound. _'No...it isn't going to work.'_

His stomach sank as the Jōnin realised that while his Iryō Ninjutsu was very, very slowly healing the wound, it was not helping his student by much. The boy had lost too much blood, and his face had already grown a sickly pale. Sasuke and Sakura watched as their team mate fell to the ground, as his own blood formed a pool beneath him. Sakura's stomach couldn't bear the sight, so she ran to the edge of the bridge, and began to dry heave over it.

However, for Sasuke it was a completely different story. Dread filled him as he realised that once more, he was about to lose someone who he could call a friend. The worst part was the blood. Just like his parents, Naruto was there, lying in his own blood, completely helpless. But he wouldn't be helpless this time. This time, he actually had the ability to do something. With that realisation, the Uchiha Heir steeled his nerves and ran over to his sensei, who he noticed had begun using some sort of medical jutsu to heal Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei, is he going to be okay?"

The boy tried his best to remain neutral, but even he could tell that a little bit of emotion had leaked into his voice. Fortunately, Kakashi knew that it wasn't the best moment to joke around with that. "It isn't looking good. He's already lost too much blood. There's a tiny chance that he'll be able to heal using his own chakra, but after his fight, this could go either ways." Even through the explanation, the Jōnin kept his concentration upon the Shōsen Jutsu, not willing to let go if there was still any chance that he could save his student. 'I'm not going to lose more people.'

Sasuke nodded, understanding what his teacher was telling him. "You can take my blood." Those words were enough to catch the Jōnin's attention, snapping him out of his own reverie. "What do you mean, Sasuke?" "My blood, it's O-, so it works for everyone. I'm a universal donor." Those words immediately brightened Kakashi's disposition, as he realised that Naruto still had a chance. "Sasuke, that's excellent. Come over here, I'll attach a bag to you right now." Kakashi said, focusing on producing a seal less shadow clone.

The clone proceeded to unseal a medical kit from his bag, from which it pulled out a drip and a bag. He prepared the equipment, before turning towards Sasuke. "Now, I am going to remove some of your blood. You might feel a bit faint, but only for a little while." With that warning, the clone pushed the needle into the Uchiha's arm, allowing blood to flow into the bag attached to it. Sasuke ignored the prick, not caring much for any discomfort. While the clone collected his blood, he looked away from Naruto, glancing around the bridge. It was mostly littered with the bodies of Gato's hired muscle, but the bodies of Haku and Zabuza also lay there, next to which was the Kubikiribōchō. Tazuna was still in a bit of a trance from having seen a small army torn apart by a single ninja, and Sakura was still leaning over the edge, trying to get a hold of her stomach.

As he looked over the bridge, he realised something. He had expected to see a lot of blood from life as a shinobi, to be honest. But to be shown all of this on his very first mission outside of the village was something else. Yet he knew he couldn't just let his nerves get the best of him, because his team still needed him. It was at that moment that Sasuke realised what kept Naruto going. The boy had always said it, but it was the first time that Sasuke truly learnt what he meant. _'I'll be Hokage, dattebayo!'_ The kid wasn't just saying that for himself. He was saying it for everyone in the village. His friends, his teammates, and everyone else he cared for. That's why, even though he was the dead last of their year, he was still bright and happy. Because he had something to fight for. Sasuke was jerked out of his thoughts when the clone pulled the needle out of his arm, attaching the now full bag to Naruto's arm. By this point, Kakashi's breath was growing laboured. He had already used a lot of his chakra on making shadow clones and using Shōsen. But he was glad to note that with the blood entering the boy's body, he seemed to rejuvenate, and the gash was slowly growing smaller. "Feed Naruto a soldier pill, stat." The original commanded, and the clone immediately pulled out a small pill from his pocket, which he crushed into smaller crumbles, and fed to the boy.

As soon as Naruto had swallowed the soldier pill, his cheeks flushed with colour. The combination of the feshly donated blood and the chakra replenishing pill had an immediate effect on the boy, as his chakra system was started up, causing his own healing factor to kick in. _'I can't believe we got lucky enough to have blood on the spot. I mean, had Sasuke not brought that up, Naruto wouldn't have made it.'_ The Jonin tried to shift his focus away from these dreary thoughts, instead marvelling over the amazing healing abilities of the Jinchuriki. Admittedly, his Shōsen was helping a little, but once the boy's own chakra had started healing him, the wound was practically knitting itself back to normal. _'Naruto just doesn't realize how lucky he is. I mean, being the Kyūbi Jinchuriki was one thing, but having the famous Uzumaki vitality and longevity on top of that.'_

The Jonin allowed his Shōsen to die off, not wanting to subject himself to chakra exhaustion once more. By this point, the gash looked like a much smaller cut, although the scar of the original wound remained. That wasn't going anywhere soon.

Turning to check on his other students, Kakashi noticed that Sasuke was still looking as solemn as ever, although there was a sliver of relief in his eyes. Sakura was faring much better now, and had gotten a hold of her nerves. She had managed to walk closer to Naruto, although she was still standing further away than Sasuke. "I-is Naruto going to be okay, Kakashi-sensei?" The girl asked, with a tone of sadness, and what sounded like guilt. Kakashi finally allowed himself to release a sigh he had not known he was holding in. His mind felt a lot lighter as he smiled at his students. "Yes, Naruto's going to be just fine."

The Jonin stood up, and gestured toward the bridge. "But we need to clean this mess up. I'll have a clone take Tazuna and Naruto back to his house, while we get started on the clean up." Kakashi proceeded to make a new clone, as the older one had already dispelled.The clone picked Naruto up carefully, making sure to not aggravate the area around the injury. The boy might be out of the danger zone, but Kakashi knew he wasn't perfectly alright just yet. He would allow the boy to rest for at least a day before having him return to his duty of protecting Tazuna with the rest of the team. The Genin nodded stiffly. They weren't looking forward to having to clean up the bodies that lay strewn across the bridge, but they knew they had to do it, so they didn't complain. Just as the clone was about to jump away with Naruto, a rumbling was heard from the other end of the bridge. Tazuna and the ninja – or the conscious ninja, at least – looked in the direction of the noise, only to see a small horde of people running towards them.

The group was armed with a great number of makeshift weapons, ranging from lit torches and pitchforks to kitchen knives and spades. At the head of the phalanx was Inari, surging forth with a slingshot in his hands, and a metal cooking pot on his head. "The people of Wave are here to help! We're gonna fight for our country!" The little boy's voice boomed across the bridge, as he pulled out a stone and pulled back his slingshot. "Now, where are the bad guys?!" The shinobi were amused by their arrival, but Tazuna was not as happy. "Inari, you little brat, why'd you come out here when you knew you should have stayed at home. You're too late anyways, the ninja already took down all of the thugs." The old man pinched his grandson's ear, earning small sounds of protest from the boy.

The rest of the villagers were confused by what Tazuna had said about the ninja having beaten the thugs. Or at least, they remained confused until a breeze blew by which finallyremoved thelast of Zabuza's Hiding In The Mist Jutsu. As that mist dissipated, the sight of all the corpses became visible to all the people there, and the effect was instantaneous. Well, most of the civilians immediately felt sick, but some began to celebrate the death of Gato, and their freedom from his greed. The clone of Kakashi only sighed, before leading Tazuna and Inari away from the crowd and back to their home. The bridge builder continued to give his grandson an earful regarding his rash behaviour. But despite his front of anger, the man was pleased with the boy. After months of suffering under Gato, it was Inari who finally brightened the spirits of the villagers and rallied them together for a good cause. And Tazuna was proud to call Inari his grandson.

Back at the bridge, the crowd had begun to thin out, with most people going back to the town to celebrate the end of Gato. Kakashi eye smiled at the two Genin, though the smile was more sadistic than joyous. "Well, my cute little Genin, looks like we should get to work. "The two groaned as they begrudgingly got to work.

* * *

It was a long week, but soon enough, the bridge was complete. The entire town had gathered near the bridge to congratulate the old bridge builder and marvel at its magnificence. They had also gathered to bid farewell to the ninja of Konoha, whose mission had finally come to a close. Naruto grinned as he stood next to his teammates, ready to leave for their return to Konoha. The boy had only needed about ten hours of rest before he was all good to go, and the wound on his abdomen was nothing more than a scar. He had been surprised to hear about how bad his condition had gotten, and he had been even more surprised to hear that Sasuke was the reason he was still standing here. Between that and the boy having jumped in front of him to take on a hail of senbon, Naruto was beginning to realise that Sasuke wasn't a bad kid through and through. He had just been dealt a bad hand by life. Just like Naruto himself.

The three Genin had resumed their tree-walking training during the week after the battle with Zabuza, and though all three were now proficient with the actual exercise, Kakashi had instructed them to continue practising, as that would improve their chakra control as well as their skill with tree-walking. Tazuna stepped forward, a look of triumph on his face, and a large bottle of sake in his hand.

"People of Wave, we have these brave ninjas to thank for our freedom today. It is because of them that we can celebrate today," The man took a hearty swig from his bottle, and then raised it up above his head. "And in honour of their work, I have decided that this bridge shall be known as 'The Great Naruto Bridge'." The announcement was met with immense applause and support from the crowd, and it caused a bright blush to settle over Naruto's cheeks. Inari picked that moment to chime in, as he clutched onto Naruto's leg. "Please don't go now, Naru-nii! Wave needs a good hero like you. Please, just stay here with us!" The kid cried out, with tears running down his cheek, unwilling to let go.

Naruto leaned down and patted the kid on the head. "Inari, these guys don't need another hero. They have you. And I know you'll take care of all of them." The Genin's words served to make the young boy begin crying even more. Frankly, the sheer volume of the tears was incredible by this point, but he finally let go of Naruto. Fifteen minutes later, the group had taken to the trees, jumping from branch to branch in a flurry of mobility, with their home village on their mind as their destination. Kakashi was glad that the tiresome mission had drawn to a successful close. Though, the entire experience has been more than a little humbling for him. Evidently all the time he had spent outside of the Anbu had made him grow rusty. Five years ago, Kakashi wouldn't have had a problem with spamming jutsu after jutsu, but in his match against Zabuza, just a handful of jutsu drained him of practically all of his chakra. The whole incident had been an eye-opener. _'I need to start some more serious training once I return to Konoha. I can't protect my students if I'm in no condition to protect myself.'_

Sakura was having a similar line of thought, although it was inclined towards her own weaknesses and limitations. 'I can't believe I just froze up like that in front of Zabuza. And then I couldn't even help Sasuke-kun against Haku. Even Naruto-baka risked his life and gave it his all to fight them.' She remembered how weak and helpless she had felt when she saw the missing nin fighting her team mates and her sensei. Heck, she could barely keep up with the movements of Naruto and Sasuke, let alone Haku. And the battle between Zabuza and Kakashi had been so intense that just the aura of both Jōnin had been enough to petrify her. The thoughts plagued her mind the entire way back, although they had diminished somewhat by the time the familiar village gates came into view.

The group landed onto the ground seamlessly, and continued walking toward the gates. The trip from Konoha to Wave that had taken a whole day when Tazuna had been along, but without them having to slow down to accommodate any civilians, the team of ninja was able to make the trip back in less than five hours. They had made a short stop on the way back, both to take a break and to finish up the mission report they would present to the Hokage. And the Hokage Tower was their first destination.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi read over the latest mission report he had been given, a mask of complete composure on his face. Internally, however, it was a completely different case. The entire report was just...ridiculous. First of all, the mission had gone from being a C-Rank to a A-Rank once two Kiri missing nin had intervened, which happened less than ten kilometres away from the village. And instead of returning to the village once that had happened, Team 7 had continued on with the mission, breaching all protocol. To top it off, two more ninja had attacked the squad, including a previous member of the Seven Legendary Swordsmen of Kiri. At that point the mission was nothing short of an S-Rank.

"Kakashi, I cannot say I am pleased with your decision to carry out the mission, despite the deception of your client. You chose to endanger the lives of both yourself and your clients." Kakashi cringed slightly at the admonishment, as the Sandaime Hokage continued. "Fortunately for you, the mission did not have any casualties, and it says here that all of the Genin insisted upon continuing the mission, therefore I am willing to overlook this." This instantly calmed the Jōnin's fretted nerves. "Well, it seems that everything is in order. You may pick up your pay from the mission office. You will be receiving the average S-Rank mission pay, and this will also be going on your record as an official S-Rank. All of you are dismissed, except for Naruto. I would like a word with you." The Uzumaki gulped as his team mates left the office. He knew that his Jiji wouldn't actually do anything to hurt him, but the serious look he had on his face was scary nonetheless.

"Hehe, is something wrong Jiji?" The boy asked in the most innocent voice he could muster. The Hokage merely offered the boy a pointed look. "I cannot say I am too surprised, Naruto. Your first mission, and you've already gotten into a tonne of trouble." The Sandaime chuckled. "Of course, I wouldn't expect anything else from my future successor. I am glad that you are alright, though I would like it if you tried to not get injured to the best of your abilities." Hiruzen added a more serious tone to that last part, which caused the boy to grow slightly abashed. "But that is all, Naruto. You did well on the mission, so go on, enjoy your time off." Naruto smiled, before dodging out of the office, glad he wasn't in any trouble.

Once he had gotten his pay from the mission office – which was honestly so much that he had been shocked – Naruto made his way back to his apartment. It was early in the afternoon, so he wanted to just take the day to relax, and maybe hit up Ichiraku's in the evening. As soon as he arrived, he noticed that his apartment's door was open. He pushed it open, noticing that the lock of the door had been smashed. He felt his stomach sink as he entered the apartment, noticing shattered glass strewn across the entire floor. He grew more upset as he realised that his entire home had been ransacked.

The entire place had been covered with the glass, and all the windows had been broken. He stepped into the kitchen, only to see his cupboards broken and his fridge gone. His mattress was also in the kitchen, or at least whatever remained of it. From the burns across its surface, and the multiple holes made through it, it wasn't exactly something he'd be able to sleep on any time soon. He winced as he realised that his bedroom was probably in an even worse state. For a moment he grew angry. In fact, angry was an understatement. He was properly agitated, as he saw the condition his home was in.

He should have expected it, to be honest, as the villagers had always done something along these lines whenever they had gotten the opportunity. But it had never been this bad before. Sure, some jerks would spray paint the walls or kick the door in, but this was just something else. 'I leave the village for a few weeks and they've already destroyed my home. I swear, if I ever find out who's responsible, I'm gonna make them pay.' He forced back his rage, as he knew it would not do him any favors to grow upset. All he could do was hope that he would be able to replace or fix whatever was damaged. He walked into his bedroom and was not surprised to see the bedframe missing, along with all of his clothes shredded up and on the floor. He only grew more infuriated as he registered the fact that now with all his clothes ruined, and his current jumpsuit cut on the side, he didn't have anything else to where.

With a weary sigh, he ran a hand through his hair. His day had really taken a nosedive. It was then that he remembered the small fortune he had just received for the latest mission. Obviously, he hadn't planned on using that money on getting his apartment fixed up, but he had to do what he had to do. "Ugh, looks like I'm going out again." Naruto was about to head out, when an idea struck him. He smiled a little as he formed his favourite hand sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Ten clones appeared around him, and looked at him questioningly. "All right, all of you get to cleaning. Everything that's busted up goes out to the garbage. Anything that can be salvaged, you clean up and put it back to wherever it belongs. Now get to it!"

His orders were met with mutters and groans, though the clones began to shuffle around and get the cleaning supplies. With a look of satisfaction, the boy then walked out of the apartment, heading toward the market. Naruto had developed the habit of avoiding the civilian stores, especially since they would never treat him fairly whenever he went there. He was usually able to make do with the shinobi markets, but there would be times when he had no option, and he would have to go to the civilian side of the shops. Whenever that was the case, he'd use a Henge to cover up his identity, just so that he wouldn't be kicked out of the shops or ripped off. And this was exactly one of those situations. None of the shinobi shops sold actual furniture, so his only option was the civilian one. So, looking exactly like a middle-aged man with brown hair, he entered a furniture shop, and began to inspect the merchandise. After about half an hour, he had purchased a new bed along with a fridge. They weren't exactly the best, but they had been some of the more affordable options, and he didn't want to raise any suspicions.

It had taken him a while to convince the shop owner that he wouldn't be needing any help with delivery, and that he'd just take the furniture himself. He again used the Kage Bunshin rather creatively, and made a set of clones with the order to take the furniture back to his apartment and set it up. He thanked his lucky stars that the shadow clones also had the Henge over them, and the clones took off while Naruto headed to a grocery store, still in disguise. He purchased a load of cup ramen, along with a carton of milk. He quickly paid for the things he got, before heading towards the shinobi side of the market. He entered the general shinobi equipment store, and dispelled the Henge. He looked around the store, and located the clothes section.

He began to browse through the options they had, and was rather pleased by the variety of orange. The first thing they had were standard black shinobi trousers with orange highlights on the sides – which he decided to get three of. He also got a couple of orange jackets, which had black sleeves, and a zipper across the front. That was all he needed for the time being, plus it was the best that they had in orange.

He went to the counter, where a retired Chūnin billed up all the items, and paid for the stuff he got. The Chūnin then sealed the clothes into a scroll, which Naruto pocketed. The boy then left the shop after thanking the Chūnin. As he walked through the streets, he got a sudden headache, as memories flooded his mind, of him having cleaned up is entire apartment. _'What the heck? That's what my clones were doing. Why'd I get the memories from the clones?'_ The boy questioned, as the small headache quickly dissipated. He decided he'd pin that to the back of his mind, and ask Kakashi-sensei or Hokage-jiji later.

Though he had to admit it, his clones did one heck of a great job at cleaning up his home. He rushed home, glad to see that the clones had also put the furniture in. They had managed to fix up the cupboards as well. They weren't perfect or anything, but he'd be able to use them at least. He had soon stacked the food into the cupboards, and changed into one of the new sets of clothes he had just bought, while a pot of water boiled on the stove. He walked back into the kitchen with his new clothes on, and took the water to prepare a hearty meal of a double instant ramen. Five minutes later, once he'd finished up with his impromptu dinner, he went to his bedroom. He didn't know why, but he had been more tired than usual ever since he had gotten back to Konoha. He decided he'd just call it an early night, as he flopped onto his brand-new bed. He drifted off to sleep, as fantasies of all the Ichiraku ramen he could buy using the remaining mission pay flooded his mind.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing Naruto felt once he woke up was a throb in his head. It was like a constant hammering inside of his skull. He groaned as he pushed himself off of the bed, and looked out of the window. The sun was just rising, so he'd been asleep for almost nine hours. Yet he didn't feel energized at all. In fact, he felt even more tired than when he'd arrived back in the village.

He tried going back to sleep, but after ten minutes of tossing and turning under the covers, he knew that it was futile. He was up, so he might as well do something to pass the time. In about three hours he'd have to go to training ground four to meet up with his team anyways. Kakashi-sensei had told them that he had something important that he had to discuss with them.

The preteen stumbled out of the bed, and walked to the kitchen. He grabbed a carton of milk from his new fridge, and chugged down a quarter of it. He then went to the bathroom, and took a quick shower. He'd been lucky enough that whoever raided his apartment hadn't done much damage to the plumbing.

As he showered, his headache grew worse, and by the time he was done, it was almost unbearable. And a new sensation had joined the headache. A painful, hot burning just behind his eyes. He moved toward the mirror to check, only to curse as he remembered that the mirror had been shattered by whoever ransacked his place. Suddenly, an idea presented itself, and Naruto formed a hand sign for what was rapidly becoming his favourite jutsu. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A single clone popped into existence, and Naruto looked at the clone's face to check his own. And he almost shrieked because of what was staring him in the face.

His clone stood in front of him, with the regular goofy smirk on its face. But what really shocked him were the eyes of the clone. Instead of being azure, the eyes of the clone were a light shade of purple, with four concentric circles around a single dot – which Naruto assumed was the pupil. He pinched himself, and when the eyes remained the same, he pinched himself again for good measure. The eyes remained the same.

Now, Naruto wouldn't argue with the fact that he wasn't the smartest tool in the shed, but he knew that a change in eye colour was not a good thing. Especially not when it gave him a massive headache and made his eyes feel as if they were melting. As the boy looked at his eyes, or rather, whatever kind of eyes these were, he realized he was far outside of his depth. He needed help, and the only person he trusted enough for this sort of thing was the Hokage. Naruto dashed out of his apartment and took to the rooftops, jumping across the buildings towards the Hokage Tower.

* * *

Most people would believe that Hiruzen Sarutobi resided in the Sarutobi clan compound, or even the Hokage compound, but they would be wrong to think so. Ever since he had been reinstated as the Hokage, the Sandaime had lived inside the residential quarters of the Hokage Tower itself. At first, he had made the decision because after the death of the Yondaime and the attack of the Kyubi, he was needed at the Hokage Tower almost all the time. But as days turned to weeks and months, he never found the time to move back into the Sarutobi compounds, so he simply remained in the Hokage Tower.

Hiruzen had actually been in his office when an Anbu appeared before him to inform him that Naruto Uzumaki was there to see him. While he never gave up a chance to spend time with the boy, he was confused as to why the Genin had to see him this early in the morning. From what he knew, the boy had a knack for sleeping in.

"Please send him in." The Anbu nodded in response, and went to open the door, allowing the Genin to enter. He then jumped back, disappearing into the shadows as all Anbu seemed to be able to do.

Hiruzen saw that Naruto was covering his eyes with his hands, and was again confused, as well as greatly concerned. But before he could word his emotions in any way, the boy let his hand drop down, and the Hokage was instantly silenced. Staring at him were not the warm and caring blue eyes of the child he had seen grow up in the village, but rather a cold purple, with black rings around the centre. However, the change in colour alone was not what shocked the Hokage. He would never boast about it, but he had been around long enough to know more than the average person when it came to the various existing and extinct ninja jutsu, and that was an understatement. Therefore, he knew exactly what the boy's eyes were. They were one of the three legendary doujutsu, the most powerful pair in fact. Not only that, but they were also astronomically rare. In fact, the only time they had ever been recorded to be possessed by anyone were by the Rikudo Sennin, and that was several centuries ago. And as far as Hiruzen knew, they had only been seen one other time. In that strange Ame kid Jiraiya had trained during the Second Great Ninja War.

Naruto only grew more antsy as the Hokage remained in shock, until it came to a point that he could no longer take it. "Jiji, what's wrong? Why are my eyes weird?"

The questions quickly pulled the man out of his own thoughts, as he tried to assess the situation. He surreptitiously moulded his chakra to ensure that he wasn't a captive of some Genjutsu, before thinking over everything that had happened so far. He sighed, knowing he had to tell the boy the truth, so he signalled for him to take a seat.

"This is a bit of a long story, but do not worry, Naruto, nothing is wrong with you."

The confident tone of his surrogate grandfather served to calm his nerves, and he sat on the proffered chair, which stood to the right of the Hokage.

The man leaned back into the chair, before deciding that he would need to start with some background information. "Naruto, I trust you are aware of the Byakugan and the Sharingan, right?"

The boy nodded hastily. "Yeah, of course. The Byakugan's the one Hinata has, and the Sharingan's from the Uchiha clan. Sasuke actually just got it in Wave."

"Yes, that is true. Now, these two eyes are called doujutsu. They are a sort of bloodline limit that develop within people of a specific genealogy." The Hokage stopped when Naruto looked at him with a bewildered expression. "People who have a similar sort of blood or DNA." That instantly caused Naruto to nod once more, this time with understanding.

"But there is another doujutsu, although the knowledge of it is very scarce due to its rarity. This one is known as the Rinnegan, and that is what you seem to possess."

Naruto hung onto every word of the Hokage's before allowing his face to split into a grin. "So, you're saying that I have a doujutsu just like the Byakugan and Sharingan? That's sweet!"

Hiruzen smiled at the child. He had always admired his ability to see the best in things. "Those are the basics of the situation, although there is still more to discuss."

Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts, before turning back to the Hokage, though he remained unable to wipe the grin off of his face.

"Now, you are fortunate that I know a person who knows at least the very basics of the Rinnegan. I shall contact him, and have him come to the village immediately to provide training for you." That remark only served to further awe the boy, though it did raise one concern.

"I mean, I don't mind the additional training, but I'm pretty sure I can manage on my own. Why do I need some special training?"

The Hokage smiled softly, to assuage any worries of inadequacy the boy might have. "Naruto, I know that you may want to train up with the Rinnegan yourself, but you need to understand how fragile your current situation is. Having the Rinnegan is extremely rare, but it is also extremely powerful. And trust me, there are many out there who would stop at nothing to take your Rinnegan from you." Hiruzen paused, as the memory of a certain yellow eyed student of his came to mind. He hated to admit it, but Orochimaru would probably want the powers of the Rinnegan more than any man on the planet, especially since it offered a complete affinity for all five elements, as well as its unique collection of gravity-based jutsu. "Therefore, I am not willing to take any risks when it comes to your safety. You need to start developing your skills as fast as possible, because having the Rinnegan puts a huge target on your back."

Naruto took the explanation in stride, though he was more curious about why people would want the Rinnegan so badly. It didn't take long for the reason to finally click inside his mind. "So, exactly how powerful can people be with the Rinnegan?"

Hiruzen grimaced. There was no way he would allow Naruto to know that there were virtually no limits to the power the Rinnegan granted. The boy would run himself into the ground if he knew that. Plus, it would then be practically impossible to keep the fact that a child in Konoha had the Rinnegan a secret. However, he couldn't just lie to Naruto either. Not only would that tug at his heart strings, but he was also sure that it wouldn't be long before the kid began to learn how powerful his eyes were. He needed to make sure that Naruto understood the importance of having this kekkei genkai, while also making sure he would stay quiet about it, at least until Jiraiya arrived. 'With his connections, he'll be able to hide away Naruto for just long enough to let him learn the basics. Once the boy can protect himself, having the Rinnegan will be a completely different scenario.'

"Well, I can just say that it will definitely make you a force to be reckoned with very soon. In fact, it might just speed up your path to taking this hat from me." Sarutobi said, taking off the Hokage hat to place it on his desk. "But you will have to stick to the training Jiraiya will give you, and make sure you don't go off telling anybody about this until I say so." He immediately began writing out a letter for his student, encrypting it with one of the codes he was sure only Jiraiya could crack.

The second the note was prepared, the Hokage raised his hand. For a second Naruto thought he was signalling for him to come closer, until a figure appeared beside him, and moved to accept the letter. The person wore the typical Anbu outfit, and had a neko mask, which hid her face completely. The only noticeable features which differentiated her from any other Anbu were her long purple hair, and the short sword she had slung around her hip.

"This letter needs to be sent to Jiraiya-kun immediately. I am giving this SS-Rank priority, with as many Anbu as you think are necessary. This information is vital, and I need you back here as soon as possible, with Jiraiya." Sarutobi delivered the commands firmly, and the woman immediately disappeared in a blur of motion. If the Anbu was at all surprised by the gravity of the letter, she did not show it. Naruto, on the other hand was unable to suppress his emotions nearly as well. His face morphed into a look of complete shock, and he was unable to form coherent words for almost ten seconds. In all honesty, Hiruzen had never seen the boy remain quiet for this long. "Naruto, are you okay?"

The boy stared straight at the Hokage for another moment, as he finally got over his thoughts. "Do you seriously think that this stuff is at SS-Rank level?" Any shinobi worth his salt knew about the ranking system; it was one of the first things you learnt about in the Academy. It went from D-Rank straight up to SSS-Rank, with most Kages and ninja of the same category being high S-Rank to low SS-Rank. For a mission to be SS-Rank meant it would be handled by at least three full Anbu squads, facing whom would be a daunting task for anyone.

Sarutobi smiled at the boy, pleased that he was still paying attention. "It is, trust me. Now, we need to see about deactivating your Rinnegan. It wouldn't do for you to be walking around with your eyes looking like that." The Hokage didn't go further on the topic, but Naruto knew what his Jiji meant. 'If any of the villagers saw me with weird purple eyes, they'd lose it.'

"Sure! How do we do it?" The boy asked, ignoring his grimmer thoughts. He was eager to learn anything Hokage-jiji was going to teach him.

"Just form the Horse sign for a moment, and then release it. That should dispel your chakra enough to prevent it from going to your eyes. Hopefully, that will work until we find a more permanent solution." He knew that with the boy's dismal chakra control, he would not be able to help the fact that sooner or later, he'd start channelling chakra back into his eyes.

Naruto immediately formed the sign, and held it for about twenty seconds. When he released it, he felt a sensation akin to a light head rush, and was able to notice that his vision grew less detailed. It wasn't blurry, rather it seemed just….normal. 'Nothing like the Rinnegan, that made me feel like I could see everything real close.'

Hiruzen was pleased with the boy, and also felt his own chest swell with pride. Naruto grinned back at the man, as he blinked rapidly to readjust to his vision. He then stepped away from the Hokage's desk and looked around the room, just to reorient himself. He almost made for the door, before stopping suddenly, and turning around to face the Hokage once more.

"When should I come back? I mean, to meet this training guy?" He asked, trying to hide his own excitement at the prospect of specialised training.

"Don't worry. At most, he will be here within a few hours." The man reassured, watching as the boy gave a quick nod. "For now, just go home and relax. I shall have you called as soon as your new sensei arrives."

The boy nodded again, before leaving the Hokage Tower. Hiruzen used his crystal ball to ensure the boy was going straight back to his apartment. He would have preferred to have the boy remain within his sight, but he didn't want to alarm the boy or reveal that he, the Hokage, was worried. But how could Hiruzen still stay calm? He had just discovered that Naruto, a child who was already the host of the Kyubi Jinchuriki, also possessed what was probably the most powerful doujutsu to exist. At that moment, he decided to take a page from one of his students' book, and pulled open his desk's drawer to reveal a few bottles of sake. There were times when all he needed was a good drink to get his mind off of some things, and this was certainly one of those times.

* * *

Naruto trusted the Hokage. He probably trusted the Hokage more than anyone else in the entire village. But he wanted to see what this Rinnegan did for himself. He made a quick stop at his apartment and nabbed one of his shinobi equipment bags. He then headed off to the training ground where Kakashi had told them to meet up. The boy had good reason to show up early, after all.

Once he arrived, he selected a training post. As was the usual, the posts had target markings carved into the woods, along with hacks and places where the wood had been chipped away by ninja during practice. If Naruto recalled correctly, the Hokage had once told him that these posts had to be changed every few months or so, because otherwise there wouldn't be anything left to hit.

Naruto drew a handful of shuriken, and then carefully channelled some chakra into his eyes. He stopped as soon as he saw his vision improved drastically, and was sure that the Rinnegan had been activated. 'Now let's see what these eyes can really do.' He was standing about fifty feet away from the training post, and after a second of taking aim, he flicked his wrist, and let the four shuriken fly.

Each of the small discs went straight to the target, and embedded themselves into the post. Three were all less than an inch away from the bullseye, and one was almost directly in the centre. Naruto grinned, and proceeded to pull out more shuriken. He couldn't believe his aim had improved so much already. He would usually have his shuriken land within the target, but they were never very close to the bullseye or even grouped together for that matter.

He tossed set after set of shuriken at the posts. 'I can't believe this. This has to be the best doujutsu ever.' He flicked both wrists, and sent a dozen shuriken zooming towards the wooden post. They struck true, and formed a tightly knit formation upon the post, very close to the bullseye. "Yes!" Naruto pointed toward the post. "Take that, Sasuke-teme! My doujutsu trumps yours in every way!" He pumped his fists in the air, and then moved to gather his shuriken from the wooden post.

Just as he had gathered the shuriken and replaced them in his pouch, he heard a familiar voice walking toward him. "Hey Naruto!" Naruto jumped slightly as he turned to face Sakura. "Oh, hi Sakura. What're you doing here so early?"

The girl came to a stop in front of the boy. "Well, I actually wanted to get some training done before the rest of the squad showed up, but it looks like I was still too late." The girl said as she felt a little downtrodden. After everything that happened in Wave, she had promised herself she'd try to take her career as a kunoichi more seriously. She had seen first-hand that it was a matter of life or death. So, she vowed to put in more effort than either of her team mates. She loathed to admit it, but both Naruto and Sasuke were leagues ahead of her already. She couldn't ever catch up to them unless she put in more work than they did.

She had decided to go to the training grounds early, and get some extra training in, only to see that Naruto was already there, already working harder than she was. 'Honestly, how can I put in more effort than these guys when they plan on doing the same. I can't even get a break.'

"Then there isn't a point in sulking, is there? I've already started with some shurikenjutsu practice, so we can just work on that, eh?" Naruto asked, as he began moving away from the targets. "C'mon Sakura. We'll even see who throws the best. What do you say?"

She briefly considered it, before deciding that she didn't have anything better to do, and she did plan on training in any case. Some competition wouldn't be too bad.

"Ok, though I'm not gonna let you win." She joined him, and once they were at a suitable distance from the posts, they both pulled out their shuriken. "On the count of three. One, two, three!" Just as he finished the countdown, both Genin let a flurry of shuriken loose at the posts.

* * *

Jiraiya of the Sannin was a pervert – or a 'super pervert', as he always wished to be referred to as. He wrote smut, he fucked whores, and life was good. For the most part.

There were times when he would reminisce about his old squad, or his student Minato, and at those times he would finally understand Tsunade's sake problems. But these days, it was all getting even harder to stomach. He hadn't been to Konoha very often since his student had died, despite Sarutobi's badgering. But he was growing tired of being away from home, even if he would never admit it. And he was almost sure that even Sarutobi was growing tired of asking him to return to the village, judging by the lack of letters he'd received over the past few months. Maybe he'd send a letter to Sarutobi himself once he reached Takunomi town. 'After a bit of research, of course.'

The sound of footsteps caught his attention, and he mentally braced himself for combat, but didn't bother turning around. He didn't want whoever was after him to believe they had lost the element of surprise. 'Not like they're really trying, anyway.'

A group of shinobi descended from the trees around him, and formed a small circle around him. All of them wore familiar Konoha headbands, and Anbu masks. Jiraiya counted twelve around him, and he was sure that there were more hiding in the foliage, ready to assist if need be. Five of the shinobi pulled out fuinjutsu seals, which Jiraiya immediately recognised to be privacy seals of a surprisingly high level. "What is the meaning of this?"

An Anbu wearing a neko mask stepped forward and knelt in front of the Sannin. "Forgive us, Lord Jiraiya, but we are following the standard protocol for a SS-Rank secret. The Hokage has sent you a message."

Jiraiya had to keep his jaw from falling slack. 'An SS-Rank secret. The last one of those we had was that Kushina was pregnant.'

The Anbu finally completed the privacy seals, and Neko then pulled out a note from a storage seal and gave it to the Sannin. Jiraiya grabbed it and immediately began to read through it.

As soon as he had read it over twice, he used a fire jutsu to burn the note to a crisp. He then turned to the Neko Anbu. "When was this dispatched?"

"Two hours and twenty- three minutes ago, Lord Jiraiya. We were told to find you as fast as possible, and it wasn't an easy task."

Jiraiya nodded. "All of you, return to Konoha immediately. I will see you there."

Neko seemed hesitant to do so, but protested nonetheless. "We have been given orders to escort you back, Lord Jiraiya."

Jiraiya groaned with annoyance. "Look, all I know is that I don't have time to go slow for you guys. See you back in Konoha."

The Anbu moved to stop him, only for the Sannin to fly through hand signs as he moved away from the Anbu. He bit his thumb and smeared some blood across his right hand, before slamming it into the ground.

A cloud of smoke masked the entire group, and by the time it cleared up, the Sannin was nowhere to be seen.

Neko gritted her teeth, before calling the rest of the Anbu to gather. "We will fall back immediately. For all we know, Lord Jiraiya has already arrived in Konoha."

With those simple orders, the group of Anbu began to remove the privacy seals, and then began their journey back to Konoha. Not a single sign of their meeting remained.

* * *

Jiraiya stepped into the Hokage office through his preferred method – via window – and turned toward his sensei.

"Ah, Jiraiya. It's been some time, hasn't it?" Hiruzen said as he leaned back in his chair. He was considerably inebriated by this point, and an empty sake bottle lay on his table.

"We can play catch up later, sensei. First tell me if the note you sent me was true." Jiraiya asked, as he picked up the bottle. It was drained dry, just as he had expected.

Hiruzen tried to straighten himself up a little, as he faced his student. "It's true, Jiraiya. Naruto has the Rinnegan. And I expect you to train him now." Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "But can't you have someone else train him, like Kakashi, or some of the Hyuugas. They are way more used to doujutsu than I am."

"They have never seen the Rinnegan, Jiraiya. They wouldn't have the foggiest idea of what to do." Hiruzen took a moment to light his pipe. "You, on the other hand, are perhaps the best equipped person for this task in all of the Elemental Nations. Especially as you have already trained one person who had the Rinnegan."

Jiraiya chuckled bitterly, as he seemed to almost immediately age by several years. "That didn't end up too well, sensei, and I don't know if the same will happen to Naruto. Evidently, I failed to train Nagato properly."

Hiruzen took a soothing drag from his pipe, realizing that Jiraiya might be a tougher egg to crack. "It was a time of war. People died all around. They may not have deserved it, but it happened nonetheless, and you should not punish yourself and Naruto for this."

"In any case, you are well aware that the Chunin exams will be held in Konoha, and they will begin in about a month. It would be idiotically optimistic of us to believe that the truth regarding Naruto's doujutsu will remain hidden when multiple shinobi attend from all over the Nations. We have our time limit, Jiraiya. Within a month, I need you to turn Naruto into a shinobi capable of protecting himself from stronger threats. He isn't neccessarily weak, at the moment, but he is still a newly minted Genin."

Jiraiya remained headstrong, however. "And what if I do not accept? I'm a field ninja, so I'm already living outside of Konoha. You can't exactly banish me. And even if you try to take me down by force, it won't be easy Sarutobi-sensei."

Hiruzen sighed. "I know you want to train the boy, Jiraiya. He is Minato's son. You should have been his godfather and sensei regardless. Him having a doujutsu does not change anything." Another long drag. "He needs your help, or he will be dead or kidnapped before the Chunin exams are complete. We cannot interfere directly in the matters of the exams."

The two remained silent for several moments, as Jiraiya merely glared at the Hokage. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. And his sensei knew exactly what to say to convince him. "If I'm doing this, I'm going to need access to at least three private training grounds. I will also be needing a private hospital room for the boy prepared in advance if the need arises."

Hiruzen nodded. "That is easily arrangeable. Anything else?"

"Nope, Sarutobi-sensei, that should be all." Jiraiya said as he rose from his seat. "Now, I guess I can introduce myself to my godson."

* * *

"Are you absolutely sure that your information is accurate?" Asked a man with a croaky voice.

"Yes, my lord. I have verified it, as has the rest of the squad. It is definitely the Rinnegan that the boy has."

The man leaned back in his chair, considering the words of the ninja kneeling before him. "Anything else of importance to report?"

"Multiple teams of the Anbu were sent on an urgent mission by the Hokage himself, and 2 hours and 25 minutes later, Jiraiya of the Sannin was seen appearing outside of the Hokage Tower." The ninja responded.

'Interesting.' "Very well," The man said dismissively. "From now on take an additional squad with you, and keep a closer eye upon the Jinchuriki. I want detailed reports on him. What he does, what he eats, when he pisses and when he sneezes. I need everything, understood?" The man demanded. The ninja merely nodded in reply. "And have another team keep an eye on Jiraiya. That old monkey is up to something, and I need to know what."

The ninja disappeared, and another took his place. "Will there be any action taken, my lord?

The man remained quiet as he thought over it. The Jinchuriki had already been given too much independence before this point, and it would be detrimental for our vilage if he continues to grow stronger at this rate. Naruto had also been on an official mission, and had proven himself to be stronger than either he or Sarutobi could have expected.

"I need you to take a solo messenger mission of the utmost importance. I need you to go to the village hidden by the sound, and tell Orochimaru that I must speak with him regarding something of the utmost importance. Tell him that I will give him ten fresh bodies to experiment on for his complete cooperation."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys and gals! This is the second chapter to this website, and I have finally announced the pairing! It is a definite yes for the Naruto/Fū, while I am on the fence regarding Mei. Either ways, no need to worry, I will do my best to do the pairing justice, no matter what.
> 
> So, tell me what you thought of this chapter. I would love to hear about anything you liked or disliked, or any thoughts or guesses you have for the future. Canon divergence is going to be beginning soon, and I am honestly looking forward to that right now, as I want your thoughts on that.
> 
> The pairing is fixed, so I'm sorry if you don't like it, but Naruto/Fū is my favourite rare pair, and Naruto/Mei doesn't get much attention either.
> 
> Do leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed it. I do my best to answer any and all queries. I guess that's a wrap!
> 
> Peace Out
> 
> Kofukuna Shi No Kami


	3. Chapter 3

"Well, he's obviously getting along with the Rinnegan."

Jiraiya felt a strange amalgam of pride and sadness as he watched Naruto continue to outdo both himself and his female teammate. The girl managed to get most of her shuriken decently close to the centre of the target, and had even shown some minor improvements over the last hour, but Naruto was on a completely different level. The Sannin could tell that he was barely focusing on his aim, yet he rarely missed the bullseye. The amazing show of skill made Jiraiya remember how incredibly powerful the Rinnegan truly was. "Maybe making him battle-ready won't be as difficult as sensei thinks." He turned his attention back to the field when he heard the girl yell with frustration.

"This is useless! We've been at this for hours, and my aim isn't getting any better." Sakura complained, as she once more pulled her shuriken out of the training post. "How do you even manage to throw so well? I never knew you were this good back in the Academy."

Naruto grinned bashfully, as he scratched the scruff of his neck. "I guess I have been putting more effort into this stuff recently, but there's nothing to worry about. Practice makes perfect, and that's all there is to it." Naruto didn't feel too good about lying to his teammate, but even he understood the gravity of the situation he was in. He had to stay quiet about the Rinnegan for as long as the Hokage wanted him to. "C'mon, let's give it another shot, eh?"

Sakura grumbled a little, but got back to the throwing side of the field nonetheless. She took a moment to correct her footwork and posture, before turning to the target and taking aim. The blond did the same with his own target. "Three...two...one...throw!" Sakura announced as she sent her shuriken flying through the air, directed at the bullseye.

The blond focused his chakra to his eyes, allowing his Rinnegan to activate momentarily. He then took aim, and tossed his shuriken. Immediately after, he formed a subtle horse seal, and deactivated the Rinnegan. It was a slightly tiring process, but Naruto thought it was worth it to make sure his Rinnegan remained a secret - even from his team mate. On the plus side, he was getting much better at turning his doujutsu on and off at will.

The ten shuriken that Naruto sent flying managed to find a spot on or around the very centre of the target. Jiraiya noted that the one that was the furthest would have been dead-center if it was a mere half inch higher. Sakura's weren't as close, but Jiraiya believed it was the best performance he had seen from her today. The one furthest from the bullseye was only two inches off, and the girl had even managed to get two to hit the bullseye.

"There we go!" The girl shouted triumphantly as she raced across the field to gather her shuriken. "You see that Naruto? Now that's real improvement!" She exclaimed excitedly. Naruto couldn't help but grin as well. "I told ya', practice makes perfect."

Sakura nodded in acknowledgement, however she quickly grew a little sullen, as she fingered the shuriken in her palm. "I just wish Sasuke-kun had been here to see that. It'd be nice if he knew I'm not as useless as he thinks I am." Naruto also felt a little hurt at the mention of the Uchiha. _'Heh, what'd I expect. He's bound to still be the centre of everyone's attention.'_ Jiraiya felt a small pang in his own heart as he saw the result of the girl mentioning the third member of the Genin squad - or more specifically, the effect it had on Naruto. "Damn, the kid has it bad."

"That isn't true Sakura. I know you aren't useless, and I'm sure Sasuke doesn't either. Every member of Team Seven is important." Naruto said, as he tried to raise her spirits. "Soon enough, we'll be as strong as Hokage-jiji, believe it!"

Sakura nodded once more, as she forgot her exhaustion, and gained a renewed sense of determination. "I don't know about that, but the least we can do is try our best. I really haven't been giving my training nearly as much time as I should have been." With that, the girl turned back to face the target, and prepared to throw her shuriken once more. She didn't notice the small smile on Naruto's face.

Jiraiya yawned, before pulling out a small notebook which he always kept with him to write his novels in. He expected to be here for quite a while, and watching the Genin toss shuriken around was honestly quite like watching paint dry. He had no idea how the squad of Root Anbu watching him were keeping themselves preoccupied. He had sensed them the second they entered the field - he wasn't the village's best at stealth for nothing, after all. It had taken him a few minutes to find out whether they were here for him or Naruto, but he was now sure they were sent to observe him. _'I'll have to ask sensei about them, because I am sure that Root is still supposed to be inactive.'_

* * *

It was another hour later that Sasuke Uchiha arrived, and by that time Sakura and Naruto had stopped their practice. Sakura had grown too exhausted to continue, whereas Naruto had simply grown a little bored. For the next fifteen minutes Sakura tried to talk to Sasuke about training, and was even curious about the Uchiha's methods. To be honest, Naruto was a tad curious himself, considering the fact that Sasuke never trained with the squad in the training grounds -he had always chosen to use the grounds in the Uchiha compound. However, Sasuke remained tightlipped regarding details, claiming that any such training methods were Uchiha clan secrets. Both Naruto and Sakura understood the great importance placed upon such matters, despite not being members of any clans themselves, so they had just remained in an uncomfortable silence until their sensei finally arrived.

The Genin would have complained, but they had honestly grown accustomed to their sensei's lackadaisical approach to punctuality. Plus, they were much more interested with the set of forms the man held in his hands when he approached them.

"So, what are those for, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, though all three of them had been thinking along the same lines.

Kakashi gave them one of his mischievous smiles - for which the Genin still did not understand how they were visible despite his mask - and responded in a jolly tone. "These are the registration forms for the Chunin exams, which will be beginning in about a month. And these are for you in case you want to sign up."

Naruto was a little confused as his sensei passed the forms around. "Chunin exams?"

Sakura sighed. "C'mon Naruto, even you must remember how ninja are promoted from just Genin. I thought you wanted to become Hokage. That isn't going to happen if you stay a Genin."

Naruto blanched as he glanced from his teammate to his sensei for confirmation. "She's right you know. You need to be of Jonin rank or above to be made Hokage, and the most common way to go up the ranks is taking the exams."

Naruto quickly looked over the forms once. "Well, if that's the case, sign me up! There's no way I'm going to skip a chance to get closer to being Hokage." Jiraiya couldn't help but grin at the enthusiasm the kid had.

"There isn't a reason to rush a decision. We'll all meet up next week, in this spot. If you're sure, just sign on the forms and hand them in to me by next week. Participating in these exams can be very dangerous, so you should carefully consider your choice." The sensei explained. He then leaned forward and his smile vanished immediately. The three Genin felt an oppressive aura fall upon them as they almost keeled over. "But...if any one of you choose to not participate, none of you will participate in the exams this year, no matter what." He spoke in a voice that was uncharacteristically serious for the Jonin, and told of an aspect which his students had only ever seen from him in battle. All three of them gulped as the feeling slowly let up, allowing them to breathe a little more freely. Within seconds, he was once again all smiles. "So, the decision is all yours, my cute little Genin."

With that simple instruction, the Jonin proceeded to walk away from the three Genin. "I'll see all of you next time, with your decisions. Bye till then." Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves, and left behind no other trace.

An uncomfortable silence quickly settled over the team, which was broken by Sakura. "So, Sasuke-kun, do you plan on participating in the Chunin exams?"

The Uchiha grunted. "My brother became Chunin at the age of ten. As far as I am concerned, I'm already two years behind. Not only do I plan on participating, but I also plan on being promoted." With that, he turned to the path Kakashi took and followed suit, leaving only Naruto and a considerably upset Sakura standing in the field.

"What about you, Sakura?" Naruto asked. "Do you think you'll be taking part?"

The girl seemed hesitant but nodded. "I'm pretty sure I will. So I guess that settles the matter."

Naruto grinned. "That's great. Do you want to train some more? I was going to work on practicing jutsu." The boy asked hopefully. He wasn't sure why, but Sakura hadn't gotten angry at him for the entire two hours they had spent training together, which was something really strange for the two. But there was no way he would look a gift horse in the mouth or anything.

Sakura shook her head. "N-no, I think I'll call it a day. I honestly still feel tired, so I'll just head home for today." Truthfully, she was also facing a huge dilemma of her own. She was torn between participating in the exams and not doing so. She knew that if she backed out, she'd be letting down her team mates. Naruto saw these exams as a chance to get closer to his dreams, and Sasuke-kun might never forgive her for interfering in his quest for revenge. She did not want to draw herself further away from the object of her affection. But she also knew that she was nowhere near Sasuke and Naruto's level just yet, and that she might even end up being a burden to them in the exams. "Today's training seems like a good place to stop."

Naruto forced a smile. "Sure. Maybe some other time, I guess." He was a little upset, but he wasn't about to focus on that. Not today, after the huge change that had happened in his life.

Once Sakura had also left, Naruto decided to practice his ninjutsu. He'd ask Kakashi-sensei or the new 'specialist trainer' he would get for some cool, badass jutsu later, but he also wanted to see if having the Rinnegan helped him be better at the jutsu he already knew. He remembered that Kakashi had mentioned to Sasuke that with the Sharingan he'd be able to perform his jutsu better. It wasn't a huge change, but it was enough to make a difference. The blond crossed two fingers from each hand in his favourite hand sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In small puffs of smoke, a large crowd of shadow clones popped up around the boy. Naruto counted the clones - this was way more tedious than Naruto thought it would be, since his clones had obviously inherited his mischievous streak - but he soon confirmed that there were exactly one hundred and fifty. And Naruto was very happy with that. The Genin knew that he could create a far greater amount of clones too if need be, but what made him so proud was the fact that there were exactly one hundred and fifty clones, as that was the exact number he had focused on creating. He had discovered in the past that the accuracy of the number of the clones he produced decreased as the desired number grew greater. If he tried for ten, he'd get exactly ten clones, but when he tried to make around a hundred or more, he'd usually be off from the exact number. "This is a first." He also noticed that making all of the clones had barely made a dent in his chakra reserves. He could only imagine what a major threat he'd be on the battlefield if he could just send out hundreds of clones without needing any help from the Kyuubi. "It looks like the Rinnegan gave me more chakra."

"Well, that isn't true to be precise, kiddo."

The one hundred and fifty one Naruto's all drew two kunai each, looking around the training grounds in an attempt to locate the voice. Naruto felt his pride sting a little at having allowed someone to sneak up so close without detection. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Naruto's eyes moved from left to right quickly as he tried to ascertain the position of whoever was watching him. A soft foot step behind him alerted him to a presence. He spun around with his kunai in hand, wondering how someone had gotten so close to him without any of his clones noticing, only to hit thin air.

The man who had been watching him now stood ten feet away, and was smirking madly. "Not bad kid. If I was asleep you might have actually gotten me." The white haired man said casually.

The first thing that sent alarm bells ringing in the boy's head was the fact that the man had a strange headband on. It read 'Oil', and that was something Naruto had never heard of, but it wasn't Konoha. The man also wore a green kimono with matching pants, though the top was shorter than most kimonos. Naruto was sure that must be to allow ease and movement during a fight. He even had a mesh undershirt for extra protection, and a red haori on top of it all. A large green scroll was slung from his back. The final thing which completed the rather bizarre get up were wooden sandals. They had long been put out of use by most shinobi, in exchange for the more reliable and comfortable running sandals. "What's the matter brat? Not used to hitting targets that can actually move?"

Naruto snarled. "Who are you?" The old man did nothing, but Naruto soon heard multiple familiar popping sounds from behind him, as well as feeling his mind flood up with memories of fighting someone. He turned around to see a copy of the old man decimating his clones within seconds.

The man destroyed the first line with multiple sets of shuriken, which were so fast that the clones barely even realised what was happening. The man then proceeded to launch into a series of punches and kicks, sending the clones flying into the air for a few milliseconds until they burst into clouds of smokes. The number flew down from one hundred and fifty to fifty before Naruto even realised what was happening.

The last fifty realised that they wouldn't be having any luck by going against him one at a time, so they all rushed at him together. The clone merely gave them a smug look, as he knelt down and formed hand signs. "Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!" The man's long white hair elongated even further, and wrapped around him in a protective shell. But that was only the start of it. His hair then shot out at the clones like senbon, piercing them and causing them to explode.

The hair softened and receded to reveal the man completely unfazed. He then blew up in a similar cloud of smoke. "You're not the only person who knows how to use that nifty jutsu." The original said from behind the Genin. "But I will admit that I don't know many people who can make as many as you just did."

Naruto gritted his teeth. This guy was strong, very strong. And Naruto was now feeling a sliver of fear.

"What's the matter brat? Didn't Sarutobi-sensei tell you I'd be here soon?" Jiraiya asked.

The boy's eyes widened. "W-Wait, are you supposed to be my new sensei?"

The old man grinned. "Well, I sure as hell ain't here to kick your ass all day." And he then looked right into Naruto's eyes. He had seen the boy using them for the last few hours, but seeing it up close crushed any chances that the entire situation was a misunderstanding. He would have recognised those lilac eyes anywhere. "That's the Rinnegan for sure."

Naruto was in a stunned silence. This guy was good! He must be really strong, and have some really cool jutsu on top of that. "Hey, old man, can you teach me that jutsu that you did with your hair? That looked really cool!"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Old man? I'm no old man Naruto, I am Jiraiya of the Densetsu no Sannin, the Toad Sage, and the ultimate super pervert." He leapt into the air, and summoned a large toad, as if to prove his point. Naruto however, wasn't too impressed. "Another pervert? Is this a common theme for strong ninja?"

Jiraiya was nonplussed by the comment. "And as for that jutsu, you won't be learning that any time soon." The blond was cut off before he got a chance to complain. "If I train you, it will be properly, from the basics." Naruto deflated somewhat, but he was still excited for any training he might get. "But it won't be easy, let me warn you."

Naruto scoffed. "Well, that's good, because I don't wanna train any other way." He puffed out his chest as if to support his statement. "So, what do we start with?"

The question threw Jiraiya for a loop. "Actually, I thought that we could take today to just introduce ourselves to one another and begin training from tomorrow. I actually had something to do in the village today." The man admitted, giggling as he could only think of the 'research' he could conduct now that he was in the village. The mere thought of all the girls who had doubtlessly bloomed into very, very hot women was almost enough to cause a nosebleed. The Genin, however, was not impressed. "Is this thing you have to do more important than training me, old man?"

The Sannin was about to snap at the boy, and reprimand him from insulting his thorough - and very enjoyable - observation of the nude female form when he looked straight into the blond's eyes. Or right into the Rinnegan, to be precise. For the second he did, his mind was flooded with memories of his first three students. The three students he had let down. Over the decades, he had often wondered if those Ame kids would still be alive today if he trained them better. And that was all he could think of as he looked into the same Rinnegan eyes. "U-Uh, no. We can start your training now if you're up for it." He then smacked the boy over the head. "But you better not call me old again. If anyone in this village is old, it's Sarutobi-sensei."

Naruto shrugged off the comment. "What are you going to train me to do first? Saying they'll be the basics doesn't exactly tell me everything."

"We'll be starting with some simple non-elemental jutsu, and testing your chakra control. I have a couple of theories for that, but I want to test them nonetheless. But if we're going to be doing that, we need a body of water first."

The boy was about to suggest that they head over to the hot springs as that was the closest body of water in the village, but he was left awestruck when the Sannin just turned to the centre of the field and began to prepare a jutsu. A second later, the man began to spew water out of his mouth at a ferocious speed, and the spout literally dug itself a hole in the ground. By the time the man was done, a three metre wide pool of muddy water was present in front of the two.

"Th-That was amazing! How'd you do it?"

Jiraiya sighed. "It doesn't take much to impress you, does it kid. That's just an advanced water style jutsu I learnt when my 'research' took me over to Water Country. This was before the civil war, mind you, but that's a tale for another time." He then walked over to the pond and stepped onto the water, and began to literally walk on water. "We're gonna begin your training with water-walking."

Naruto fell his jaw drop. "R-Really!" The Genin had seen Kakashi do so in his fight against Zabuza, but he had been sure that was a much more advanced jutsu that he'd learn later on. To be told that was what they were starting with was a game changer. He shook his head to focus on the matter on hand. "How do I get started?"

"To be honest, it's a lot like tree-walking. You just channel chakra to your feet and use that to stand on the water. The only difference is that the water is constantly moving below you, so you need to change the flow of chakra to make sure that you stay on top." He then walked back onto the earth. "Think of the dirt as a little incentive. The better you do, the less times you have to fall into the pond."

"Well, if that's the case, I guess I won't be getting dirty at all!" He boasted confidently, as he walked to the water, and focused some chakra into the soles of his feet, trying to imitate what he did when he would walk up a tree. He then stepped onto the water. And it worked. He felt a little wobbly, sure, but he was standing on water! "See, old man, I told you it'd w-ugh!"

Jiraiya doubled over, chuckling inconsolably as he watched the kid floundering in the water. "You sure you got it?" Naruto only grumbled as he got out of the pond, tugging at the wet jumpsuit that was now clinging to his form. "But it was working, wasn't it? What'd I do wrong?"

Jiraiya smirked as he raised an eyebrow. "Absolutely nothing. You seem to already have a pretty good idea of what you need, so I guess you just need some more practice. So go ahead."

The blond nodded, and immediately leaped back onto the water. As the Sannin observed, his thoughts were firing off many questions in his mind. _'He definitely has improved chakra control, just like Nagato. No wonder he'll have water-walking down pat in a few minutes.'_ But that realisation still left Jiraiya in a quandary. He had no idea where to start with the boy's training when it came to the Rinnegan. He knew of certain abilities that the Rinnegan granted, such as a complete affinity for all five elements, as well as some of the gravity based jutsu. He also knew that the Rinnegan allowed the user to absorb chakra from others and from jutsu. _'I'll have him begin learning some of the basics for elemental chakra moulding and some jutsu. Maybe I can even ask the Toads if I can teach him the frog katas.'_ Jiraiya had seen the boy's clones attack his own clone, and their form had been absolutely atrocious. The kid wouldn't last a second against someone who actually knew any taijutsu. _'But he sure has shadow clones in spades to back him up.'_

Then a thought struck him, and he felt giddy as he formed a quick theory. _'If I'm right, the boat's training will be a breeze. Those shadow clones of his might be of more use than simply being cannon fodder.'_ "Hey, Naruto come over here."

The blond looked up at his new teacher, a look of glee on his face. "Sure!" He took a steady step on the water, and when he didn't fall through, he ran to land. The Sannin had evidently been right when he said he had gotten the hang of it, as his second try had proven much more successful. "Did you see that old man? That wasn't too hard."

"Usually, that would have taken a person much longer, maybe even a few days to get down. But as it is, your Rinnegan has quite a few amazing perks. One of them is improved chakra control. Your mind is able to take such fine control of the chakra you send to your feet, that something like walking on water is just a breeze for you. That chakra control is also why you did better with the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu earlier. More control meant you only used as much chakra as needed, and only made as much clones as you wanted."

Naruto grinned as he scratched his cheek. "Guess I'm just that cool, eh?"

Jiraiya's expression grew stern. "No need to go and grow cocky, Naruto. You may have gotten much stronger thanks to the Rinnegan, but it isn't going to win you all of your battles. You need to train with it, and you need to learn how to fight without it. Otherwise, you aren't going to be able to protect yourself or anyone you actually care about." Naruto grew a little confused. "I-I know, which is why I know I'll have to train myself. But the Rinnegan is still a huge part of it. I mean, the Hyuga and Uchiha clans are also famous because of their doujutsu, aren't they?"

Jiraiya sighed. "That's true, but that isn't the case for the best of the best. The ninja who truly go down in history don't just rely on one thing." He explained. "The Rinnegan should be a tool for you. It shouldn't be a crutch for you to rely on." He noticed that Naruto was still having some trouble wrapping his head around the idea. "Let's put it this way: what would you do if someone took your Rinnegan away."

Naruto's eyes widened in horror, as he raised his hand towards his face defensively. Jiraiya continued. "It has happened before, you know. It's actually how your sensei got his Sharingan, though he took it with the consent of an Uchiha friend of his. But enemy shinobi have also taken the doujutsu of Konoha ninja before, either as a trophy or to study it and try to recreate it." Jiraiya's face hardened as he looked at his new student. He wanted to make sure he knew that having the Rinnegan wouldn't be all sunshine and daisies. "What would you do if you were forced to give up on everything that matters to you, just because you lose the Rinnegan at some point?"

Naruto didn't have an answer, and Jiraiya honestly didn't expect one any ways. "That's why, you need to understand that Naruto Uzumaki isn't just the guy with the Rinnegan. You need to become someone along with that, because there are going to be people who could beat you, Rinnegan or not. No student of mine is going to be a one-trick pony." The boy seemed somber at this point, and Jiraiya was sure he was mulling over everything he'd just been told.

However, Naruto responded much more excitedly than Jiraiya had expected. "If that's the case, then I just have to put in twice as much training, one part for the myself, and one part for the Rinnegan. Naruto Uzumaki doesn't give up, no matter what, believe it!" He wasn't grinning in his usual manner. He actually seemed to have steel his features, and his eyes were ablaze with a fiery determination that the Sannin would recognise anywhere. _'Just like his father.'_

Jiraiya cleared his thought to regain the boy's attention. "I might actually have a solution to your problem about having to put in more time than usual. And if my plan works, you might not have to worry about putting in time for training for quite a while."

Something that could help along with his training? Now this was something that could get Naruto's interest. "What is it?"

Jiraiya leaned forward, almost conspiratorially, before whispering. "With Shadow Clones."

Naruto huffed. "How does that help me with my training? I already know how to do make Shadow Clones pretty well, and I'm even better at it with the Rinnegan. Don't really see how that'll help me." This earned him a smart smack over the head. "Hey!"

Jiraiya crossed his arms. "That isn't what I mean, brat. You can have your shadow clones do your training for you, so that you learn whatever they learn. It's a bit of an extra benefit added to the fact that they transfer memories back to the original."

Naruto was pretty sure every human had an in built maximum capacity for the amount of shock they could go through within the span of twenty-four hours before enough is enough. He failed to understand how he hadn't reached that point yet. "B-But, what?! How was I supposed to know that I could get the clones' training. I only found out about the memory thing yesterday! Wait, how does that work?! Do I just become as strong as the clone?! Does that work for other things like sleep as well?!"

Jiraiya sighed and pressed down on his temples. 'This kid is a handful to say the least.' "Calm down kid, let's take it one question at a time. Evidently, whoever taught you that jutsu didn't take the effort to explain to you how it works."

"Actually, I learnt it myself."

This caused the Sannin to pause. From what he knew, Naruto hadn't been the best student at the Academy. He'd even been held back twice because he couldn't get the Bunshin no Jutsu right. That made sense, considering the fact that he had horrendous chakra control from the Academy reports. But the kid learning a kinjutsu without any guidance didn't really match up with the rest of the information. He had a lot to discuss with his sensei once he got hold of the old man.

"Well, that would do it. So, time for a quick crash course. The Shadow Clone is actually meant for advanced and dangerous scouting missions for the most part. A ninja can send out a clone to learn information, and when the clone sees or learns something important, it can dispel itself and send all the information to the original person. This allows recon in high-level, dangerous missions for the most part, to prevent unnecessary loss of life. And the same thing can work for training. If you make a clone and have it, say, read a book or something, you'll get the memories of the clone having read the books, and you'll know what was in the books," He grinned. "That is if anything can actually get through that thick skull of yours. You will essentially have twice the time, and you can add that math over to training, along with the number of clones you can make."

At any other time, Naruto would have refuted that claim very vocally. But at the moment, he was just stunned. "But, if you can do that, why doesn't everyone train like that?"

Jiraiya grinned once more. "That's why you're special, kid. Most people can make just a couple dozen clones and can't keep them active for too long. That's one of the biggest drawbacks of the jutsu. Using them for training just isn't practical. But you have enough chakra to make hundreds of clones, and still have spades to spare. That's enough clones to make a big difference. This isn't something people can just do."

Naruto grew a little sheepish as being referred to as special, but that line of thought was soon replaced by curiosity. He drew his hands up in his favourite hand sign, and cried out. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Ten clones popped up around him, all with similar smirks of determination on their faces. "All of you, try doing that water-walking thing."

"Yes Boss!" The small crowd pushed and charged at the pond, and slowly stepped onto it, wobbling a little. Once they had a steady footing, they began to take cautious steps around the pond, and tried to improve their dexterity with the task. Jiraiya only watched with amazement. "Kid, if this works, you have no idea how lucky you are. The possibilities are endless! You and your clones could do so much, from strategy study, to learning jutsu and chakra control improvement, all at the same time." He went on. "And you'll be well-prepared to defend yourself from anyone who'll want to kill you, or worse, capture you." The Sannin then looked over to the pond. "There's only one way to know if it even works."

Naruto was about to ask the man what he meant, when he saw a flash of metal fly to his clones. Each one burst into a cloud of smoke, and Naruto felt a dull throb in his head, as he recalled everything the clones had just done.

"Now, why don't you give water-walking another go?" The Sannin said.

Naruto walked to the pond, and stepped onto the water. He then did what his clones had been doing, and began walking around on top of the water. It all came very easily to him, and he was soon leaping around on the water's surface, testing his ability. His clones had given him enough experience to be decently proficient on top of the pond. "This, this is amazing!" The boy yelled out, as he jumped back onto the ground. "If my training goes on like this, I'll be Hokage in no time." _'That'll show Sasuke who the loser really is.'_

Outwardly, the Sannin chuckled in response to the vigour of his new student, but his mind was not in it. _'Naruto will be able to grow stronger over the next few weeks, but I don't know if that'll be enough. The kid's obviously in over his head. He doesn't recognise his eyes for the damned curse they are.'_ And the Sannin was right. Villages had clashed and conflicted for lesser eyes. The first example that came to mind was how Kumo's attempt to steal the Byakugan had resulted in the death of a shinobi from both villages, with those shinobi being very powerful people, both physically and politically. And as far as the Toad Sage was concerned, the Byakugan was nothing but a child's plaything compared to the Rinnegan. He could only imagine how desperate the other village's would be to get a child, who is both the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, and has the Rinnegan. _'I'm just glad we have been able to keep the situation contained. Kumo alone would have sent hordes of their best to get him.'_

The Sannin was drawn from his thoughts when he saw the boy jumping up and down in front of him. "Helllooo! Anyone in there, old man?" Jiraiya grunted good-naturedly. "Cut it out brat. Now, what were you rattling on about?"

Naruto harrumphed. "Some sensei you are? I want to know what we're gonna be doing next." The boy then looked to the Toad Sage, a touch _(read: tonne)_ of impatience in his voice. "I mean, now that I've already got a hang of the water-walking."

Jiraiya raised a hand to brush his chin. "I'll be honest, I didn't expect you to get done with that this soon."

"Thanks for the faith, old man."

Jiraiya ignored the interruption. "I guess that makes the rest of the day off." The man's face suddenly brightened up immensely. "Which means I still have time before dark to do my research!" He turned back to Naruto. "Why don't you just practice more of the water-walking, really get it right? We can start on something tomorrow, 8 AM, same spot."

Naruto was about to retort, not wanting to keep on doing something he already seemed to be doing well enough, but Jiraiya had already disappeared in a blur of movement. The blond clenched his teeth with annoyance. "Lazy old man..."

He turned back to the pond, and as looked at the murky surface, he got an idea. He grinned triumphantly and formed the hand sign for what was now definitely his favourite jutsu. Twenty clones popped up around him, and all of them had annoyed looks on their own faces. The original only smirked. "You know what to do."

The clones groaned, but moved onto the water nonetheless, mumbling about cruel, lazy bosses. Naruto proceeded to leisurely walk away from the training field. _'Guess I might as well go get some ramen for now. I could get used to this clones thing.'_

* * *

The Root ninja should have felt a strong sense of foreboding settle over him as he entered the dark, underground corridor that led to the base of a known criminal. However, his conditioning held strong, and the only thing that mattered to him was completing his objective.

"So, do you shitheads ever talk, or are all of you just dead bitches?" Asked his guide. She had met him at the designated rendezvous point and had then blindfolded him while they walked into the base. Orochimaru was almost as paranoid as his own master. The woman had been speaking almost non-stop since they had met, and lacked any of the necessary conviction or tact of a true ninja.

"Excessive talking is usually unnecessary for missions." Was the simple reply he could offer. It was precise, to the point, and easy to understand. Danzo always stressed upon how efficiency was one of a ninja's greatest weapons.

Tayuya could only sigh. "Figures that any company I get here is practically braindead. Though I'll admit, you aren't worse than the rest of the dickbags holed up in here." She finally stopped in front of a door. "He's in there, and he's expecting you. Just go on in." She said as she pushed the door open. "Oh, and a quick tip. If you want to get out of there alive, quit that tough guy, silence act. He doesn't take that shit well." The woman moved back down the same corridor, leaving the Anbu member alone in the eerie hall. He went into the room, and saw that it was some sort of laboratory room. Medical instruments were also strewn across the various tables and counters. However, what caught his attention the most was the unconscious man lying naked on a gurney, tied down by leather belts over his chest and legs. His hair was white, despite him obviously being younger than thirty, and his structure was pale and gaunt.

"Ah, seems you have met Kimimaro." A soft, deadly voice whispered from behind him. The ninja turned around to see the man he had come to meet, standing just a few feet away from him. His training should have allowed him to sense any enemy from a much greater distance. But then again, Orochimaru of the Sannin was not just any enemy. "Poor Kimimaro was promising. Very, very much so. But he was not strong enough. Quite...unfortunate." The criminal's voice betrayed the fact that he didn't seem to feel it was as unfortunate as he claimed. But they were getting off track. The Anbu pulled out a small scroll, and offered it to the Sannin. "This is the word of the Root."

Orochimaru accepted the note, and quickly perused it. As he read through it, his eyes widened halfway through. It was after ten minutes - the Anbu estimated approximately twelve readings of the notice - that the man looked at him once more. "And Danzo is certain of this?"

"Yes. Multiple agents reported having seen the child and his abilities with their own eyes. The subject is being monitored at this moment as well."

Orochimaru's face turned into a cruel grin. "Well, Danzo will be pleased to know that I shall accept his offer."

The Anbu member nodded. "I shall return the message with haste." He turned to leave the room, only to be halted by a laugh.

"Who said anything about returning?" The ninja felt his instincts command him to get away, but before he could process any thought, he felt a hand wrap around his neck. Orochimaru held his grip for long enough to make sure the Anbu had fainted. "And that makes nine more subjects for experimentation, Danzo. He better pray that he is able to deliver upon his claim, because if that old man is unable to do so, I shall cut him down just like all the other scum of Konoha."

The Sannin's eyes narrowed as he carried the unconscious Root member to another research room of his, with his mind still focused on the warhawk having allegedly found a host 'with even more potential than the Uchiha boy'. He smirked. If Danzo was being true, he could only imagine what his potential new host possessed, which could be considered better than even the Sharingan.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys and gals! This is the newest one for this story, and boy did I have fun with it. I tried to focus on multiple aspects, rather than fixating on just a single thing for the entire chapter. Tell me what you thought of it. I am in the process of cross posting this over here from FNN, I just got a little caught up a few days ago...
> 
> Plus, I hope that I did not make any drastic errors when it comes to the characters. Of course, things are bound to change in fanfiction, but I do think the change should be smooth and gradual, and remain true to the original characters. Otherwise, you might as well be writing about an OC to be fair. That will answer at least a few of your queries.
> 
> Anyways, I am sure people will complain about how Naruto seems to developing way too fast with the Rinnegan. Thing is, it is still paced - the Rinnegan is just OP as hell. People have a tendency to forget that when every Tom, Dick and Uchiha get the damn thing in canon. It is still a devastatingly powerful doujutsu. Add that to Naruto's knack for practical learning, his grinding abilities, and Jiraiya taking the training a tad more seriously, and voila. OPness to be expected. I am not going to nerf Naruto for the sake of 'development', as the better form of development would be to come up with situations that are creative enough to force development in things other than getting a new jutsu or somethin'. Just my thoughts.
> 
> But do keep in mind that there are things going on that I am purposefully not mentioning in the story, like some behind the scenes stuff. Just because I haven't explicitly mentioned it doesn't mean I haven't thought of it yet. Just tryin' to build up slowly. I have big plans at the moment.
> 
> Well, that's all for this chappie, so that's a wrap! I hope you guys enjoyed, and if you did, tell me all about it in a comment. Those are major inspirations to us fanfic writers.
> 
> Peace Out
> 
> Kofukuna Shi No Kami

**Author's Note:**

> Now, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you have any questions or comments, leave a review and I will do my best to answer them. And consider giving kudos if you did enjoy it! Maybe check out some of my other stories on ffn. I have some more Naruto and HP stuff, plus others. Well, I guess that is a wrap! 
> 
> Peace Out
> 
> Kofukuna Shi No Kami


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